Just Fur
by SarahShalomDavid
Summary: Serena is tasked with looking after her three-year-old goddaughter whilst Miranda is in a meeting with various board members but chaos begins when little Alison decides that she wants to run around Runway... in nothing but a fur coat. Miranda/Andrea.


When Miranda came out of her meeting with the various board members of Elias-Clark she was met with a confusing sight as when she got closer to her office there was a mass of people standing around. All of which should have been working but for some reason were not and it included a variety of people from the beauty department to the wardrobe department and more. The Editor-in-Chief cleared her throat as she stood behind a group of them, "What is going on?", she questioned, "Is there a reason why you aren't doing your jobs or have you finally realised that you are not performing to the best of your abilities and have decided to give up?".

"We...", Jocelyn stumbled on her words as she struggled to decide what to tell her boss but that decision was made for her when a bundle of fur ran down the hallway resulting in laughter coming from many of the employees, although that was mostly the people who had not realised that their boss was standing so close to them all. "That's why", she said as she pointed to the little girl who was running down the hallway in nothing but an oversized fur coat.

Serena was chasing after her in a clear panic, "Allie!", the woman called out to the three-year-old little girl, "Allie! Come back here". "And put some clothes on!", she added after a couple of seconds.

"Serena", Miranda said calmly as the woman got closer to her.

The woman froze in front of her as the little girl continued to run without realising that she was no longer being chased by her mother's employee and temporary babysitter.

"Why are you chasing my daughter through the halls of Runway?", the white-haired woman questioned with a raised eyebrow, "And why is she only wearing a fur coat? A fur coat that is supposed to be used for a photoshoot later today but instead is being dragged around the floors of Runway?".

"Well...I...", Serena paused before admitting, "She spilt her juice down her dress and refused to continue wearing it so I wrapped her in the coat to keep her warm, it was the closest thing and now...".

"And now you have decided to play chase with her around the halls whilst my employees watch instead of doing their jobs?", Miranda questioned.

Serena bit her lip, "I did not exactly decide on it", she admitted before quietly saying, "She is faster than she looks".

Miranda struggled not to laugh, the little girl running off without clothing on was not a new thing as she had done it many times at home at the townhouse and usually it resulted in both Cassidy and Caroline chasing a soapy wet child around the house because she decided that after having a bath she would air-dry whilst running resulting in wet footprints being all over the carpets. Patricia had the sense to hide from the little one after ending up covered in bubbles when the child had only just turned two.

"Back to work everyone", Miranda declared, "Serena, I expect my daughter to be in my office within the next ten minutes". She turned to her assistant, "Emily, you will get a change of clothes for Alison then you will get me my coffee", she said before continuing her orders whilst Serena left to find the little one, "Lunch will be on my desk for both Alison and me in an hour which must include that dessert thing she likes so much". Her orders continued for a minute whilst the new 'Emily' scribbled down notes in a small notebook.

Meanwhile, Serena was rushing down the halls of Runway in the direction of where she knew that the little girl had run off to, she loved her goddaughter but the child could often be quite a little madam as she was rather mischevious like her two older sisters. The woman simply hoped that the new baby that Andrea was due to have in the next couple of weeks would be a little calmer.

Serena did admit, however, that life would be a little more boring without having such a mischevious goddaughter, especially when the little one was running around the hallways of Runway. Alison definitely had the ability to make their workplace a little more fun and entertaining as well as calmer because Miranda was less likely to fire anyone when her daughter was there unless of course, they upset the child.

There had been an incident when Alison had been starting to learn to walk and a model, who was rushing through the halls without looking where she was going, managed to knock the little one flat on her behind. When Alison screamed out there was not a single person in the office who did not turn to look, and that included Miranda. Jocelyn had been keeping an eye on the little one as she walked but she had not been quick enough to stop the little one from falling. The young woman was, however, very quick in picking up the child and moving her away as Miranda fired the model and declared that she would never work for Runway again.

Another incident involved a photographer not much longer after that who nudged her out of the way of the camera where she was holding on to the stand without causing any issues with the camera or his work, which had not even begun at that point. Then there was the fashion designer who declared her a spoiled brat when, in actual fact, the little girl was ill and simply wanting her mother which meant that Miranda carried her with her throughout the day despite the fact that she had the ability to leave her with the nanny at home for the day.

Most were not stupid enough to say anything negative about the child or her presence at the offices and most were very welcoming of the child in the way that they helped her and did what they could to help care for her. Andrea had been rather popular towards the end of her time at Runway and she continued to be when it became obvious that it was her that had managed to calm Miranda to a level that meant that they did not have to fear for their jobs or lives as often as they had done previously.

The little girl was very popular in the halls of Runway and she was a very sociable little girl as she rather enjoyed the attention she got from the various staff members. Those that visited Miranda often enquired after the children, including Donatella who would always be quite disappointed if the little one was not present. The Italian woman never arrived at Runway without a gift for her goddaughter and loved it when the child joined her and Miranda for their 'lunch meetings' which happened at least once a month and had done for many years.

"Allie!", Serena called out.

"That way", Nigel said as he pointed towards the wardrobe department.

"Did you not think of grabbing her when she ran past you?", Serena questioned the man with a sigh, she was getting bored of running around the offices, although part of her was also rather amused at the same time.

Nigel laughed, "Me? Manhandle Mini-Miranda?", he questioned as if it were the best joke that Serena had ever said in her entire life, "I'm not that stupid".

Serena rolled her eyes and made her way into the closet, "Allie", she called out softly.

Alison Louise Priestly was hidden behind a shelving unit thinking that she could not be seen where she was but she had not taken into account the staff members that were in the room as one of them pointed her out as soon as they saw Serena looking for the child.

The young woman decided that chasing her was simply not a method that was working very well for her and she glanced around the room as she tried to work out a different approach for capturing the little runaway in order to return her to her boss safely. That was when she saw a large sheet folded up on the side, "I am borrowing this", she stated, the other women in the room did not argue with it as they figured that it had something to do with the child and consequently their boss so they were not brave enough to say no, instead opting to just nod in agreement, not that Serena cared for permission from them anyway.

Serena carefully opened up the sheet as she took the long way around the closet so that she would be positioned behind Alison where the little one could not see her, then she moved forward and quickly threw the sheet over the child. Once the sheet was covering the child, Serena moved closer and scooped her goddaughter up into her arms, closing the sheet into a bundle so that the child was enclosed inside as if she were in a material sack.

The eyes of each employee in the room went wide in shock, their colleague was daring to lift their boss' child up in a sheet like a sack of potatoes or like a bundle of presents about to be delivered by Santa Claus. That reaction was repeated by everyone that Serena walked past in the hallways as she made her way towards Miranda's office.

"Oh you are brave", Nigel said with pure amusement as the makeshift sack squirmed.

Serena shrugged, "I have three minutes left to get this little one to Miranda", she highlighted, "This was the easier option".

Alison was giggling and squirming in the sheets, "Swing me Aunty 'Rena, swing me high".

"On the plus side, at least she isn't screaming because then you really would be in trouble", Nigel pointed out with a slight smirk.

"My goddaughter is crazy", she stated, "She always loves to be swung around, such mischief".

Nigel nodded, "You better run".

Serena did not respond other than to do exactly what he had told her to do and rushed towards Miranda's office, luckily she made it within the timeframe that she had been given and was soon standing in the woman's office with a bundle of sheet in her hands where the little girl was inside the sack-shaped bundle.

Miranda raised an eyebrow at the younger woman, "I see that you have... captured my child in a rather primitive fashion".

"Well... I", the woman was suddenly doubting her decision.

The Editor-in-Chief moved forward as she listened to the sound of her daughter giggling from inside the sheet before kneeling down to lightly tickle her child through it, "Lower her down", she commanded softly.

Serena carefully lowered the bundle to the floor where Miranda started to tickle the little girl before tugging her into an embrace.

Alison was giggling happily in her mother's arms whilst still wearing only a long fur coat.

"Thank you for taking care of her Serena", Miranda said softly, "Even if she has spent the last goodness knows how long running around the offices in just fur".

"I rather like looking after her", the woman admitted, "It is rather... fun".

"Even chasing her through the hallways?", her boss questioned.

"It would be boring without her", she stated.

Miranda laughed, "Oh, that it would".


End file.
